At first blush, the latest Apiece Apart collection had a strong escapist vibe to it. The romantic off-the-shoulder ruffles; the summery flowing silhouettes; the washed-out colors and floral prints, the latter a first for this brand. But as Laura Cramer and Starr Hout explained at an appointment today, this lineup was galvanized by a sense of reckoning: The election—its vitriol-spiked last months and unexpected grand finale—got them thinking about the particular nature of female strength. How does it show itself? How is it embodied?

Cramer and Hout’s answer to that question boiled down to this: Female strength looks like softness, but its true spirit is one of ruthless practicality. In a complex world, who doesn’t want some grace, some beauty? But on the other hand, how nice if that grace and beauty comes in a fabrication that can be tossed in the washing machine and dried at home on the line, as the Apiece Apart ruffled denim dress and top could be, and likewise the pieces in the cinnamon and black graphic floral? And as the designers pointed out, isn’t there something stronger in the fact that women get to throw on no-brainer dresses, such as their maxi-length knit, rather than constantly fussing with suits and other species of tailoring?